Live Wired wrote:If you have the money to buy a 2nd property, then do so to rent out. bricks and mortar is the future, majority of people cannot afford to buy.
Stocks and shares, then you are gambling on something ( I presume) you know little or nothing about. Apologies if you do.
Pension schemes..avoid like the plague. You've got 40 years until retirement, though no doubt it will be 50 when your terms. A bloke who you don't know from Adam, will give you a load of bull as to how much you will get if you pay in x amount/ month. Don't believe him. I've lost count of the number of people I know who have been told, " the schemes have not performed as expected." and end up getting a lower figure every month. Pension schemes are as big a con trick as the pyramid scheme.
Not a great time to buy property, IMO. Rental yields of just 5% with the likelihood of capital depreciation over the next decade. When my mate bought his last house he was getting 15% and rampant capital appreciation. Those days have gone for the forseeable. Having said that, you can do well in certain areas with local knowledge.
The stock market has also gone nowhere for quite some years. However, longer term it should, logically speaking, provide the best returns (IMO). My reasoning, is that that companies and businesses drive the economy and large companies are by definition successful companies.
The only good thing about pension schemes is the fact that if you are a higher rate tax payer it only costs you £60 to save each £100. But, the big problem and complete con is that the insurance companies take all of your capital, which you never get back (unless you die before taking benefits and have a return of fund scheme, when the capital can go to your dependents - still not you!).
